TV execs coming to grips with Internet fandom

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Alice from the Wonderland Games Blog was at the National Association of Television Programming Executives conference yesterday, taking notes on the sessions. Of especial interest is her notes from "Engaging for Insight: Putting the Power of Fan Cultures to Work for You" -- which included the CMO of Virgin Comics, a VP from Turner Networks, and a couple of consultants. It's fascinating to see TV execs trying to come to grips with Internet fandom:

I ran comedycentral.com when we launched Southpark. We used the web early on to let fans find each other, but I was doing it in a Viacom universe who was walking around with a sledgehammer for anyone who put a bit of fan content up on a site.. but now we do just the opposite. Comic books have their own places for people to interact: Virgin comics has been publishing since just July of last year, and already we've tracked 1100 websites talking about our comics in 12 different countries. That's wild? How many TV shows can claim something like that? There aren't many. Network programming needs to reach out and respect those people online talking about your stories. they talk about our stories, adn we don't have to pay them! the fan is happy talking because they like the product, and we're fans of the fans.

This gadget does exactly as promised: it looks like a thumbdrive (sort of) and fries the circuitry of any computer it’s plugged into. It’s made from camera flash parts, is charged with a standard AA battery, and delivers a 300V zap of DC destruction to the port for all your USB-murdering needs. Note that this […]

The Cobham catalog, exposed by The Intercept, features countless pages of surveillance gadgets sold to U.S. police to spy on American citizens: tiny black boxes with a big interest in you. In the creepily bland feature lists and nerdy product names is a whisper of a dark future; perhaps darker than anyone can imagine.

This image depicts the most commonly-found stylesheet colors on the web’s top sites—Paul Hebert did an amazing amount of analysis and this is just one of the intriguing visualizations he came up with. Most of these are obvious staples, especially HTML red and blue, though it’s interesting how far the blue “cluster” is from the […]

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Unlike traditional lighters, the SaberLight features an electronic plasma beam that’s both rechargeable and butane-free. This sleek lighter is even approved by TSA, so you’ll never be stuck buying lighters you’ll just have to throw away partially used. For some people, like me, this is a pretty big game-changer. The SaberLight’s beam is actually both hotter and cleaner […]

Holiday shopping is in full swing, and the Striiv Touch is one of the best gift ideas I’ve landed on. Its simple design works for females and males, and its wide range of features makes it suitable for even the non-fitness enthusiasts in your life.Unlike traditional fitness trackers, the Striiv Touch also acts as a smartwatch. It […]